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Fredthefiddler - Posted - 01/07/2018: 03:48:01
Is there a machine or app that will allow me to record how my fiddle sounds before and after making some adjustment, such as changing strings, adjusting sound post, or fitting a different bridge? Thank you!
UsuallyPickin - Posted - 01/07/2018: 08:14:08
Well ..... a good start would be a digital recorder and a good set of computer monitors. Recording your efforts and listening to them as well as asking friends to do so will give you feedback. Insofar as one device to give you an answer I couldn't say. The scientific study of sound is well beyond me. A device that measures and shows the wave form would be a start I guess. Check out Audacity and Waveform Sound Editor , limited versions are available for free download. Technique and equipment make a fiddlers tone. Tone has as much to do with taste as anything else and that is based on opinion. Luck.. R/
abinigia - Posted - 01/07/2018: 08:22:29
quote:
Originally posted by Fredthefiddler
Is there a machine or app that will allow me to record how my fiddle sounds before and after making some adjustment, such as changing strings, adjusting sound post, or fitting a different bridge? Thank you!
Use a multi-track recording program with a reasonably good microphone. Spend a little time on what mic placement, input level, etc. gives you a realistic sound. Then follow your protocol precisely each time you do a test. Using a multi-track recorder and headphones you can play the same melody along with previously recorded tracks. Then you can switch between tracks during playback to compare them.
Fredthefiddler - Posted - 01/08/2018: 07:24:41
Thank you, really appreciate the thoughts, will give it a try.
RinconMtnErnie - Posted - 01/09/2018: 08:09:19
Audacity is free and has frequency analysis capability. Under the "Analyze" menu tab, there is a "Plot Spectrum" function. This generates a frequency spectrum plot for whatever recording segment is selected in the normal "waveform display". If you change your selection, you have to hit the "Replot" button in the Frequency Analysis tool.
Here is a link to the Audacity manual page describing this capability: manual.audacityteam.org/man/pl...trum.html
DougD - Posted - 01/09/2018: 12:10:28
I don't want to discourage you from trying this, but I think you'll find it very difficult to measure these subtle differences. You'll probably need:
1. Either an anechoic chamber, or a way to place the instrument in the exact same relationship to the microphone each time.
2. A means of plucking or bowing the strings exactly the same way for each test.
3. A very high quality omnidirectional measurement microphone. (I see there are some pretty inexpensive ones out there that might work, since you're looking for relative, rather than absolute measurements).
4. A spectrum analyzer that can show "waterfall" plots, i.e. the level of different frequencies over time, not just at one instant.
It's likely that variations in position, acoustics of the room, and playing technique will mask the changes you're trying to measure. I really think your ears are the best tools for this job - that's what you're trying to please anyway.
I'm saying this because I've seen this done by a commercial guitar manufacturer, and these were the problems that had to be solved. You can certainly record your fiddle, but having enough precision and analyzing the results is the hard part. If you try it, good luck, and let us know how it goes.
Edited by - DougD on 01/09/2018 12:12:35
alaskafiddler - Posted - 01/10/2018: 01:44:00
Along with what Doug mentions of position and room, microphone choice can color tone. So part of what you might be analyzing is the tonal qualities of microphone.
Edited by - alaskafiddler on 01/10/2018 01:46:18
'The Keystone Fiddlers' 10 hrs
